#jewish author

[cornbreadjustice]

Hi, Jumblr!

I have been asked by my shul to put a call out on socials for a lecture we have coming up as a part of our adult education programs. It is to honor the 25th yahrzeit of one of our members, and in honor of his love of literature and science fiction, the theme is going to be along those lines.

Ideas floated by the adult education committee have been stories about the Golem and the traditions that have come from it, an author talk by a Jewish sci fi or fantasy author, or subject matter experts in Jewish folklore and storytelling. We're open to suggestions, though, and if you know of someone with expertise in a related area who would be open to speaking to our congregation one Friday this Winter or Spring, please let me know!

If anyone knows someone who would be open to doing a lecture or workshop for us and is qualified in any of these or related areas, please reach out to me! I greatly appreciate it!

[noahhawthorneauthor]

I'm Noah, and I write queer fantasy books with disabled and/or neurodivergent characters.

The Eternal Machine was my debut book, the first in an epic and dark steampunk fantasy series. ⚔️🏴‍☠️

Phantom and Rook is a cozy urban fantasy, and the first one I went 'all out' with. I also have special news about this one. 🏳️‍🌈✨

The Rebel Foxes is the last book I released, and it's the first one under my new trans af pen name, Noah Hawthorne. It's a standalone in an interconnected dark fantasy punk series. 🔥🏳️‍⚧️

My website is here, and you can subscribe to the Crew of Misfits and get free novellas here.

[insane-control-room]

Fluid Lines

Henry and Joey try to coax some funding from Grant. It does not go very well.

ink demonth - line

Aleph Paradox Rated: G Warnings: None AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58207054 Length: 3000

notes: there's a bit of yiddish usage in the fic; also, jewish themes & characters written by a jewish author.

Equations were only a multitude of lines. 

Numbers - easily shown in the form of tallies, in firm, sharp lines. It was the easiest form of speaking, a simple streak, straight and swift. Numbers were lines. Art was lines; be it written or drawn. It was all the same, you see, numbers and words and pictures, all lines in different forms. 

Supposedly, according to the two artists who were ganging up against him, that was why he had to sign off on them getting more funding for the next ‘big project’. 

Grant stared at them through his hexagonal glasses, though he knew they could not see his eyes with the slight silvery tint. Henry was inching towards Joey, trying to discreetly step on his partner’s foot so he could stop shoving it in his mouth, cluing in on the fact that Grant was entirely unimpressed far sooner than his motormouth companion. 

Eventually, though, Grant decided that he had enough of them wasting his valuable time. 

“Drew. Stein,” he rumbled. Henry went pink and Joey’s mouth snapped shut. “You two fools have no clue how business works, not a single one. See here,” he wheeled himself over to the revenue chart, his office chair smoothly gliding on the white oak flooring. “You make money, you can get funding. You lose money, you don’t have funding. Khap?” 

The looks of dismay on the two men’s faces were enough of an explanation that they very much did understand, but Grant did not like the look on Joey’s face- a cheeky one, hesitant but determined. Grant held his breath as he waited for his boss’ next words, almost certain that they would be nothing good to hear. 

“Well, can’t you just… pull it? From somewhere?” Joey asked, raising an eyebrow and giving a lopsided smile. Grant’s expression darkened, eyes narrowing and lips twitching downwards into a frown. Henry, the quicker of the two, grabbed Joey’s arm and began pulling him towards the door. Joey, finally getting the picture, paled slightly as he backed out with his business partner. “Actually, on second thought, can we scrape together abisl of cash? For a fundraising event?” 

“Maybe make like Stein,” Grant growled, standing up, and started stalking towards them. “Shut your pisk, and get out of my damn office before you find yourself in deeper drek!”

Henry quickly closed the door behind them. 

Joey’s face was pink with the embarrassment, dark brown eyes with little remorse but plenty of regret. Henry shook his head as Joey reached towards the door handle again, and the other man’s hand fell to his side. He gave a sigh, shoving his hands into his pockets and heading away towards the studio’s rotunda library. Henry followed after him, a mite dejected himself. 

Joey sat down with a long groan, rubbing his face, adjusting his kippah. Henry seated himself across from his khevruse, silent and lost in thought. 

“What are we going to do, Henry?” Joey asked, looking at him like a bit of a lost puppy, eyes big and mouth slightly downturned. “We need the money for funding, yes, but we also need the money to keep this place afloat.”

“Look, I don’t know what to tell you,” Henry crossly replied, folding his arms over his chest. “Grant already gave it to us straight. We don’t have the money for this right now. We really should… should work on getting another episode out.”

“We have one ready!” Joey splayed out his hands, and his arms. Henry blinked, surprised. “You know, the three that we have in backup!”

“Oh, right,” Henry blinked. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Right. But Joey, we shouldn’t use the backups all willy nilly like this. It comes across as… a rush? I don’t know. It’s just… not a good idea.” 

“Well, I…” Joey tapered off. Then, he rebounded with a smile as big as Bendy’s, making Henry tense up with what was sure to be a bad idea incoming. “I was thinking that we could make a bigger cartoon. For fundraising. Something… feature length, maybe.”

“Joey, that’s a terrib-” Henry caught himself, blinking twice. “Did you just say to make a longer cartoon? That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s ‘it’,” Joey replied, offended by Henry’s surprise. “What did you think I was going to suggest? A strip show? Khas v’shalom?” 

“You would enjoy that, you farze'enish,” Henry grumbled, though with a light in his eye. Joey glared at him with mock offense, calming down from the genuine upset of a moment prior. “Either way… it’s something that could work. The only problem is….”

“Reb Natan,” Joey glumly finished, nodding his head towards Grant’s office. “He’s never going to okay this, not with an episode half finished.”

“So let’s finish this line, and then we can pitch our idea to the almighty check signer,” Henry said with a smile, encouraging him. Joey gave a small smile in return, nodding. “And I’m guessing you want to make it a musical, right?” 

“How do you know me so well?” Joey asked, eye twinkling as he winked. Henry laughed a bit and clapped him on the shoulder as he stood up. Joey kissed his own fingers and pressed them briefly to Henry’s hand, standing up himself. “Ach, Chaim sheli. Let’s get to work.” 

The pair of them quickly made their way up the stairs, in a comfortable silence as they entered the art department and slipped into seats- Henry into his usual one, and Joey into whichever he pleased. Within a few moments, the soft scritching noise of sketching filled the room, conversation passing between them every now and then. Henry eventually stood up, stretching out his back. 

“It’s time for mincha,” he informed Joey. The other man nodded, and stood as well. He gathered up their papers, dropping them off in Norman’s box for the projectionist to synthesize and set up for the film reels. “Be right back. Getting the Broadway trope.” 

Joey nodded in acknowledgement as Henry slipped out the door to get the remaining members of their minyan from the theater next door. When he returned with the group, he was glad to see the studio was already gathered and waiting for them. Jack, as their khazn, nodded in greeting. They began shortly after confirming everyone was present, the services adding in aravit. Soon, Joey was thanking everyone for coming, and adding in a small Torah remark- one that made everyone groan, though appreciatively. Then once everyone had filed out, Wally came in with a smile, Joey thanking him personally (as he did every day) for his work. Henry wrapped a hand around Joey’s wrist, tugging him back to the art department. After chugging an entire pot of coffee between the two of them, they sat down and got to work. The pair worked until tikkun chatzot, and after that post-midnight prayer, both of them stumbled up the stairs to the small bedroom and passed out- Henry not even making it to his usual upper bunk and falling asleep next to Joey’s as they chatted quietly. 

The sun beaming across his face woke him. Joey was already awake, washing negel vaser in the connected bathroom. He waved at Henry, murmuring the morning prayers after he stepped out, gazing out the window to the sunrise. 

“I’ll see you downstairs,” he said in way of good morning. “I’ll see if Susanna brought for us some coffee and bagels.”

“Two bagels,” Henry murmured, pulling Joey’s blanket over his head- as, once again, he could not find his kippah. After reciting the brief gratitude of the return of the soul, he got up. Stretching out, he too made his way to the bathroom, noting that Joey had refilled the double handled cup already for him. Soon, he too was downstairs, finding Joey was in fact munching on a bagel. The man pointed at a plate with another two bagels on it, making Henry smile. 

There was a third, extra bagel, though.

“Who’s that for?” Henry asked, nudging a hand towards the plate. Joey glanced at him, and then upwards with his eyes closing slightly. Henry fought a snicker. “Grant’s office is down the stairs, Joey.”

“Aye, yes,” Joey nodded ‘sagely’, pinching a few fingers and emphasizing his words with the gesture. “But we must beg haKadosh barukh Hu for the man to sway. For only They know what lies in the mind of a person. And maybe, just maybe, They might give him a nudge. Who knows? Maybe I will put Their name twice in the credits.”

“Are you trying to bribe God, Joey?” Henry questioned teasingly. Joey only smiled. “I don’t think He really goes for stuff like that.”

“Damnit,” Joey sighed in mock defeat. “Maybe She’ll take a cut of the revenue? Our biggest and best investor and fan.”

“We’ll see about that,” Henry smiled, patting Joey’s shoulder. “Let’s finish up this episode, at least.”

Joey, reinvigorated, nodded. First, they went back to the in-studio synagogue. Once shacharit was done, though, Joey beelined to the art department once again, savaged another mug of coffee, and dove back into trying to finish up the episode. Henry joined him soon after, as well as Daniel (their ‘intern’ [Henry was sure that Joey simply liked the kid being around, and was glad to be able to support him]), once he finished up at school. Henry’s head shot up, however, when what that truly meant clicked in his brain. 

“Joey.” 

The head of the studio hummed in response. 

“We didn’t eat lunch.”

The other man raised his head, blinking with surprise as he recalled that Henry was in fact correct. 

“Ah. Oops.” he stood up, smiling apologetically at Daniel. “Well, little mensch, Henry and I will be right back after we devour some potatoes. Or something. You can keep working on those midframes- you’re doing absolutely fantastic.”

They left the teen glowing with the praise. Joey whistled as they walked to the lunch room, Henry shaking his head at him. 

“You like walking on a thin line, on the breg,” Henry nudged Joey, “Stop that whistling.”

“It’s not Wednesday,” Joey replied with a cheeky smile, and promptly resumed the high pitched titter. Henry rolled his eyes, but let the matter drop. The duo scarfed down a soup that Joey had put in the freezer a week ago, discussed the upcoming parsha in brief, and then returned to work. Joey glanced over Daniel’s work, smiling brightly. “Looking good! We’ll be done with this episode in no time!”

Henry rolled his eyes once again at Joey’s positively silly demeanor. Though, it turned out that the dark haired man was absolutely correct when it came to speed. The three of them managed to crank out the remaining panels before the end of the week, beating out the deadline by nearly two weeks. 

Tired but exhilarated, Joey gave Daniel a bonus from his own funds, the student practically skipping with joy out of the studio at the end of the day they finished. He was also extremely pleased with the long weekend he had earned for himself. 

Deadline- beaten. They now had an episode to air, as well as the three in the archives for backup. There was no way that Grant would reject the feature length idea now, considering how prepared they were for the workload. And, their non-Jewish employees would be available again after their holidays were concluded. Which would mean that the eight empty seats in the animation hall would be filled up once more, and developing the cartoons would be a breeze. 

Henry followed Joey up the stairs to the bedroom again, both of them talking excitedly once more. This time, though, Henry was on the bed next to Joey, a paper pinned to the bed above them, Joey sketching ideas as they talked. Henry found himself growing drowsier, slowly tapering off into silence, dozing off. Joey happily curled next to him, doodling until he too felt sleep tugging on his ankles. 

He quietly recited shma, and went to sleep feeling extremely hopeful for the next day. 

-----

“No.” 

Henry’s eyes widened at the same time Joey’s rapidly moving mouth snapped shut. 

Weakly, Joey asked; “Can you repeat that?”

“I said, ‘no’. Beshum oyfn nisht.” Grant repeated, narrowing his eyes. He leaned back in his office chair, steepling his fingers into a small pyramid shape. “Loy v’loy, if you need it in straight Hebrew. No, in plain English.” 

“But- why not?” Joey struggled to keep himself from whining, forcing his mouth into a smile. Surely Grant was mistaken. “The studio is completely ready for a big project- and we finished the current one way ahead of schedule-!”

“What Joey means to say,” Henry cut him off, trying to salvage the situation as well. “Is that we’re confident in our ability to pull this off. And there have been funds coming in. And there will be more funds coming in as well. So-”

“Not in a thousand years,” Grant denied, stamping the request for funding with his red rejection. “Tsvey mol di tsores when you’re together! No means no! Maybe after you have ten episodes in the vault, then we can talk!”

“I’m not nearly as bad as he is!” Henry protested. Joey looked at him, wounded by the other animator’s attempt to distance himself. Grant rolled his eyes, and replied; “You’re seventy, and he’s one hundred and thirty. That makes two hundred percent!”

Thoroughly chastised, Henry’s mouth turned into a thin line. His ears turned slightly pink. Joey did not say anything, shoulders raising slightly as he tried not to dwell on the unfairness. Henry noticed that he was biting the inside of his lip, a nervous tick of his when he was attempting not to say anything negative or upset. Henry felt bad for a brief moment, but then he snapped to attention when Grant knocked his nail on the desk twice. 

“Times ticking, nu?” he waved them out of his office again, shaking his head. “Shoyn!”

Joey’s face burned with an indignant shame as he, this time, pulled Henry from the office. What really was getting under his nails, though, was the slight gaze of satisfaction he caught on Grant's face. The jerk! Henry, still dismayed, was yet to see the look on Joey's own visage, but when he did, his down put expression faded somewhat as he tried to cheer up his friend. 

“Well, let's get to pouring more of our hearts and souls into making those moving pictures,” he told Joey, but Joey's scowl only deepened at the suggestion. “Joey? Is something… wrong?”

“Of course something is wrong!” Joey snapped, though he tried to keep his voice low. “That farssiener! I'll wipe that look off his face!”

Joey whipped out his turquoise eye liner, marching over to the bathroom to apply it. Immediately comprehending what his friend intended to do, Henry reached desperately to stop him, but missed the man's waistcoat by a fraction of an inch. Still, he caught the dark haired man on his way out of the restroom, slinging his arm around his waist and pulling him swiftly into the spare room before Grant's office, a small, tight smile on his face for anyone who saw him drag Joey off. To Joey's credit, he did not make a word nor sound of protestation, letting the other twirl him away. 

“Joey. Iyov. My friend, balibter, do not do this,” Henry pleaded with him. “Grant will not take well to it. He will not. Being… quirky will not go over well. Please.”

“It's not a big deal,” Joey, still upset, replied. Henry pursed his lips as he looked into his eyes- the blue-green makeup brought out the brighter colors in Joey’s typically dark eyes, like an aurora borealis with exposure. “I'll break his brain a little. Then we'll get the checked line.”

Henry pursed his lips, brow furrowing. 

“Fine,” he sighed. Joey's unhappy little scowl turned into a hopeful half smile. Henry pointed a finger in his face. “but I'm coming with you.”

“Works with me,” Joey beamed brightly, leaning over and pecking Henry’s cheek. He slipped out of the door, Henry following his swagger infused gait. The two of them silently approached Grant’s office, Joey turning his head towards Henry- checking to see the reaction of the other man. A slight, half lidded smile met his gaze, assuring him that he looked enticing and alluring- as much as he could, being so goofy as he was. He knocked on Grant’s office door, and without waiting for a yes or no, entered the room. “Cohen… maybe I could… convince you that we deserve the funds.”

Grant had not moved from furiously scribbling on papers, and sharply shook his head. 

“No.” he snapped, not looking up. “Get it into your head, tumpik. You’re not getting it.” 

“Cohen,” Joey said, his voice low and chiding, almost amused. He carefully moved to lean against Grant’s desk, striking a flirtatious pose. “Look at me.”

Grant, about to tell Joey off, only stared as his gaze landed on the other man. 

Henry could feel the tensity growing, thick and slow. 

Joey’s fingers slid under Grant’s jaw, making their gazes align. 

“I can guarantee,” Joey murmured, “That we will be successful. Emet.”

“‘Truth’, you say, you promise,” Grant was slow and uncertain in responding. “But we all know you to be a big promiser, Joey.”

“Tsuzogn aun lib hobn kost gornisht,” Joey replied, the silver tongued bastard. There was that slight smile on his face again, eyes twinkling beneath the blued eyeliner. The expression was a cross between desperate and determined, and Henry sympathized with the mixed feelings in poor Grant. He had gotten that look frequently. Joey’s fingers found Grant’s hand, giving a light squeeze, still looking in his eyes. “Zay azoy gut.”

“Fine. Fine, you glatiker,” Grant gave up, tearing his gaze away. His eyes landed briefly on Henry, shaking his head with exasperation. “Take it and go.”

Joey triumphantly presented Henry with the blank check. 

[koenji]

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) in a letter to his father:

"Dearest Father,

You asked me recently why I claim to be afraid of you. I did not know, as usual, how to answer, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you, partly because an explanation of my fear would require more details than I could even begin to make coherent in speech. And if I now try to answer in writing it will still be nowhere near complete, because even in writing my fear and its consequences raise a barrier between us and because the magnitude of material far exceeds my memory and my understanding. [...]" x

[thenewsarahjane]

It’s Cyber Monday, so here is a reminder that THE WALL is available as an ebook too! You can get it from Amazon or B&N via my linktree!

[elliepassmore]

Wrath Becomes Her review

4/5 stars Recommended if you like: historical fantasy, Jewish folklore, revenge plotlines

This book held so much potential and while it was enjoyable it also fell kind of flat for me. The main problems I had were that the plot kind of felt like it drifted along from beginning to end without really a main 'push' at any point and that it still felt like we didn't really know Vera by the end of the book. When a character grapples with their identity and who they are and what it means to be human (or not), you want to really be able to sink your teeth into that and walk away feeling confident that the character knows who they are. Unfortunately, in this book I think Vera was still kind of wishy-washy at the end of the book. Finding purpose is not the same as finding self.

Related to that is the fact I feel we don't really get to know any of the other characters very well either. Chaya's father isn't really in it for too long, Akiva is in most of the book but there's a distance between both him and Vera and him and the reader, and then other characters that pop in and out and don't really have much of a chance to develop. I do feel like I got a good grip on Miriam though, which is kind of odd since she really wasn't in most of the book.

Vera starts right off the bat as an interesting character. She is a golem made with forbidden magic in the image of her creator's dead daughter, Chaya. He built her with emotions so that she could feel the rage and grief Jews were experiencing at the hands of Nazis and be able to exact meaningful revenge. I thought her exploring what it means to be golem vs. human was interesting and I really enjoyed how she had a connection with the scribes of the past, Chaya and Ezra, and the river she came from. I definitively would've liked to explore more of her inner world and see more of her coming into herself. I actually thought Vera was plenty emotional, but I definitely would've liked to see more of it, more of everything re: Vera, actually. I think Polydoros had some really interesting themes and questions going and I liked seeing Vera figure stuff out about herself and the world, but I think that needed to be a bigger focus of the book, and maybe the book even needed to be longer, so that Vera felt more like a well-rounded and developed character by the end.

Akiva was Chaya's lover and is still reeling from the pain of her loss, as well as all the other losses he's suffered since the Nazis invaded Lithuania. He definitely had rage in abundance. I did at times feel like I felt Akiva's emotions more than I felt Vera's and it was somewhat of an odd juxtaposition between someone who said they were rageful and someone who actually is. While on the one hand I can understand that Akiva's trajectory and everything he does in the book is inevitable considering his past....I also kind of felt weird about how he ends the book.

The plot, as mentioned, is a bit drifty up until the very end, which made it feel kind of disconnected from the rest of the book. It's obvious from the beginning that that's where the book is going, there's no other option except for Vera to facedown some Nazis in a big showdown, but at the same time, so little of what happens feels active that it almost felt like a different book. I would've liked to see more partisan action leading up to the ending, and honestly probably more action at the end too. There's a good action scene or two in there, but considering the themes of vengeance and rage, I would've liked to see more.

In all, I think this is an enjoyable book that grapples with questions of human vs. non-human monstrosity as well as what revenge can look like when everything's been taken from you. I did like the characters but felt like there was some emotional distance between them and me that I would've preferred not be there.

[panspanther]

THIS

[howdidthatbookend]

Jean Hanff Korelitz | THE SEQUEL Spoilers

The Book:  The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz Published October 1, 2024 by Celadon BooksDate read: July 28, 2024 Find more October 2024 new releases here. The Sequel spoilers can be found below, but they’re hidden under a spoiler tag so you’re safe to keep scrolling if you’d just like to read my review. The Characters:  Anna ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon This…

[heritageposts]

By Ilan Pappe, published 5th of November 2023.

On October 24, a statement by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres caused a sharp reaction by Israel. While addressing the UN Security Council, the UN chief said that while he condemned in the strongest terms the massacre committed by Hamas on October 7, he wished to remind the world that it did not take place in a vacuum. He explained that one cannot dissociate 56 years of occupation from our engagement with the tragedy that unfolded on that day. The Israeli government was quick to condemn the statement. Israeli officials demanded Guterres’s resignation, claiming that he supported Hamas and justified the massacre it carried out. The Israeli media also jumped on the bandwagon, asserting among other things that the UN chief “has demonstrated a stunning degree of moral bankruptcy”. This reaction suggests that a new type of allegation of anti-Semitism may now be on the table. Until October 7, Israel had pushed for the definition of anti-Semitism to be expanded to include criticism of the Israeli state and questioning the moral basis of Zionism. Now, contextualising and historicising what is going on could also trigger an accusation of anti-Semitism.

. . . article continues on Al Jazeera

[adiradirim]

Sephardic Jews from Thessaloniki in their traditional costumes, in the city’s old cemetery, before the war // a contemporary photo that shows where the destroyed cemetery once was, which is now Greece's largest university, built partially on top of and with land and materials (particularly tombstones) stolen from the razed site.

Thessaloniki or Salonika, once referred to as “the Jerusalem of the Balkans” due to its Ladino-speaking Jewish majority, saw roughly 96% of its Jewish population murdered during the Holocaust. This mass destruction extended to the city's Jewish cemetery, which had been the country's largest, established in the 15th century and housing hundreds of thousands of Jewish graves until its razing by city authorities who had long desired to repurpose the land and resented the inconvenience of Jewish presence. Despite its large-scale destruction during German occupation in 1942, which was initiated and carried out primarily by Thessaloniki authorities with Nazi consent and arrangement, some parts of the cemetery survived intact as late as 1947. Many tombstones were subsequently appropriated and used by city authorities and the Greek Orthodox Church. After the war, people were still carrying away Jewish gravestones each day and regularly looting the cemetery in search of valuables. The city's officials, led by their mayor, completed the cemetery's destruction and sold the tombstones to contractors for use as building materials in various projects; as such many were and are still found in various walls, roads, structures, and churches around the city. A 1992 commemorative book pictures Greek schoolgirls playing Hamlet with skulls and other bones they found in the cemetery.

“[T]he ‘rape’ of the cemetery escalated, marble flooded the market, and its price plummeted. Jewish tombstones were stacked up in mason’s yards and, with the permission of the director of antiquities of Macedonia and overseen by the metropolitan bishop and the municipality, used to pave roads, line latrines, and extend the sea walls; to construct pathways, patios, and walls in private and public spaces though out the city, in suburbs such as Panorama and Ampelokipi, and more than sixty kilometers away in beach towns in Halkidiki, where they decorated playgrounds, bars, and restaurants in hotels; to build a swimming pool – with Hebrew-letter inscription visible; to repair the St. Demetrius Church and other buildings...” Devin Naar, Jewish Salonica: Between the Ottoman Empire and Modern Greece

Most of the efforts to return found tombstones throughout the city are led by Jews, particularly Jacky Benmayor, the curator of the Jewish Museum and last Ladino speaker in Greece, who has personally recovered hundreds of tombstones including his own family's. Surviving Greek Jews never received compensation for the confiscation of the land under the destroyed cemetery, upon which now partially rests Greece's largest university, Aristotle University, which also used Jewish gravestones as building material for its long-coveted expansion finally made possible by the dispossession and annihilation of the city's Jews. In 2014, 72 years after the cemetery's destruction and appropriation, a small memorial was established on campus grounds to acknowledge the Jewish cemetery the school is built on and with; the ceremony just 10 years ago involved the first-ever acknowledgement of the atrocities and apology from a Thessaloniki mayor. The memorial has been vandalised multiple times since its establishment.

[noahhawthorneauthor]

Working on the sequel to this beauty today, and I have some news! ✍️📚

The cover for Matsdotter and Adrastus is ready for lettering and I'm hoping to reveal it in the next couple weeks ! It is GORGEOUS, and I am so grateful to @foxglovefaun for bringing it to life. If you aren't following her yet, you really should be, her OC Ross is my beloved, that's all there is to it. ✨❤️🎨

Also, we have a full title, but I'll be saving that for the cover reveal. 😉

I do have some unfortunate news, but I've been doing a lot of thinking and decided to be kind to myself. I'm pushing the release date back one month, to January 2nd 2024. With that being said, I will be still using the original date of December 5th to send out ARCS.

In the past few months I've suffered a few bouts with depression along with other things, and it really set me back. I don't want to rush through this story, as I've done that before and regretted it. I always felt like I was falling behind, losing in a competition that doesn't really exist. But the indie author community, and the readers who read indie, are nothing but supportive, and understanding. We hold each other up, and recognize that we are in fact humans.

I want to provide the best story as possible, and I'm so excited. This is really a deep dive into Levena, and we're going to see different sides of the characters we know and love, meet new ones, and answer questions from the first book.

Thank you for being here, and for listening.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Phantom and Rook cover art by @crossroadart-seabear

[thejewitches]

Need a Jewish sensitivity reader, particularly for fantasy?

With a degree in English (with a specialization in fiction) and a wealth of knowledge on antisemitism (including topics like historic antisemitism, blood libel, and mythologizing of Jews), we’re happy to consult and provide feedback.

Feel free to reach out via our website! Feel free to send this to your author friends.

Jewitches.com

[mrsdenasaan]

Shabbos before the Jewish New Year!

Help Bubbeh Yenta get ready for Rosh Hashanah, and don't forget to tell the monsters to bring the honey.

https://amazon.com/dp/B0CC6HLP1H

[intothedysphoria]

It was a joke. It had to be.

Billy had asked him, with a bouquet of flowers in one hand, on a date. Considering the last prolonged interaction they’d had, Steve had punched him in the face, laughing hysterically then slamming the door felt justified.

As happened every time Steve did something stupid, Sofia Harrington knocked gently on his door. She sat on the side of his bed, humming a nursery rhyme he hadn’t heard since they lived in Romania and asked him why he’d been so rude to that nice boy.

Steve suspected not many people had referred to Billy Hargrove as a “nice boy.” Loud, yes. Intimidating, also yes. Unbelievably attractive, absolutely. But nice? Those were the words of a woman who’d taken one look at “King Steve” and asked why her little boy was being deliberately cruel to fit in.

There were many reasons Steve had chosen to think that was some kind of a sick prank. He knew it wasn’t homophobia because he’d seen the bars Billy frequented but goyim were generally not actively seeking out a Jewish partner.

Sofia listened to this reasoning then held his hand and told him that things would work out how they were intended to. Feeling overly emotional and slightly embarrassed, Steve followed her down to observe Shabbat.

Steve idly wondered how Billy would take to Jewish culture, if he had accepted. There was nobody who didn’t know Billy’s faith, considering he would cross himself every time he stepped onto the basketball court and Steve’s only exposure to Catholicism was his great aunt in Texas.

The next time they talked, it wasn’t even a return to normally scheduled programming. It was worse.

Billy stared at him blankly, only making polite small talk for Max’s sake and with an obviously strained smile curling at his lips.

He looked upset, monumentally so and Steve started to realise that he’d slammed the door on someone he certainly wouldn’t mind dating because he’d unfairly branded him as an antisemite.

Spending the majority of Rosh Hashanah bemoaning the fact that he was a fucking idiot had his Bubbe telling him to take a walk and apologise. It was the beginning of a new year, the perfect time to make amends.

Steve didn’t exactly apologise in the traditional sense. Instead he sent an even more elaborate bouquet of flowers with an apology note attached to the ribbon. Roses because everyone loved roses.

Billy did not love roses. At least he didn’t love them in place of an actual apology. They were dumped on the foot of his door as an extra fuck you.

The second apology attempt didn’t go much better than the first. There was nothing left on Steve’s porch but Steve’s attempt to be “cool” about it was not gaining him any favours.

Instead, Billy stared at him like he had a fish on his head and slammed the door in his face.

Karma really was a bitch then.

He had to beg Max to arrange a time where Steve could apologise properly, which she accepted after Steve offered to pay for two separate shopping trips with El and Dustin.

They met on a bench near the woods outside of Hawkins. Billy grunted, clearly impatient to get it over with so Steve talked.

As Steve explained his experiences as one of only two Jewish students through his four years of high school, Steve felt Billy’s hand creeping over to his. The look he got was no longer angry or hurt, but understanding. Steve apologised for the fight in November too and they decided to do over.

Most of the date was talking in Steve’s room. Talking about the horrendously embarrassing things Steve did in middle school, talking about Billy’s family back in Ireland, talking about where they were going to college. Normal teenager stuff.

Steve felt his eyes start to well up when he heard about Neil and how nonchalant Billy was describing the abuse he’d endured. That would never happen to him again. Not on Steve’s watch.

They may have ended the night reaching second base on Steve’s plaid covered bed until his mom decided to knock on his door, demanding to meet the first boy Steve had brought over since Jonathan.

Even after that, Billy still wanted to go on a second date. That was a miracle in itself and proof enough to Steve that Billy was the best date he’d ever had.

*quick note that I am Jewish and Jewish people being wary around goyim is completely understandable, this is just a little ficlet for Rosh Hashana

[multigenderswag]

I love when I'm googling a bigender person and it turns out they're Jewish. Bigender Jews rock and finding them makes me so happy :D